Saturday, January 25, 2014

Checking Account Bonus Rewards

Recently I received two similar offers in the mail to receive a cash bonus for opening a new checking account with that company. I've seen these before, and generally I don't partake because it requires too much money or many requirements like direct deposit that take a lot of hassle, but these were different. They had a small minimum opening deposit required and nothing else. Naturally, this caught my attention.

The first:

Discover Banking

All that was needed was a minimum deposit of $25. On 3/14/2014 a bonus of $50 will be deposited. There are no monthly fees. Easy. I wait 3 months to triple my money.

This offer has already expired but check their website frequently for similar offers.

The second:

Chase Checking

With a minimum deposit of $100 they will give you $125. Now this one's not quite as simple as the Discover one. They deposit the $125 as soon as you put $100 in but the fine print states that if you close the account within 6 months of opening it, you forfeit the bonus. So this means I have to leave the account open for 6 months to really secure the bonus. The also have a monthly fee of $10, so after the six months, my profit will only be $65 but it's still free money!

So if you get offers like these, don't just toss them. You may be able to easily qualify and get some free money! I'm not going to keep these accounts. Once I have fulfilled all the requirements to get the money and retain it, I will close them. This is especially important for the Chase account since there is a monthly fee involved.

Important things to look at (this means reading that tiny print):

How much money is required as a deposit to get the bonus?

How long do I have to keep the account open to keep the bonus?

Are there other requirements to maintain an open account and/or get the bonus?

Is there a monthly fee? And if so, is it still worth opening the account with the bonus?

Then set a reminder on your phone for whenever you need to close the account and enjoy your free money!

I probably received these because I have credit cards with these companies so I'm already a trusted customer (see Make Money With Credit Cards). If you have seen other companies with similar offers, feel free to mention them!